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• ¦ „ - ^^ A-V ' Tfemrn ^ nt the Loird of hosts vwila Establish , ) as demoting more , tlian that the dignified personage would be a Mighty Potentate , an Illustrious Sovereign I ' 9 ( Isaiah ' s Prophetic
Tities of the Messiah , a Discourse by Lant Carpenter , LL . D ., pp . 26 , 27 . ) To this question only one answer can be given ; and , on the supposition that this appellation was intended to be descriptive of Jesus Christ , the argument of Dr . Carpenter appears to
me conclusive and unanswerable . But , as far as I . can perceive , we are not justified in applying the titles contained in this prophecy to any other person than King Hezekiah ; and in the application of them to him there is a peculiar propriety , to which the historical writers of the Old Testament
appear to me to have been minutely attentive . When the King of Assyria sends Tartan , and Rabsaris , and Rabshakeh , with a numerous army against Jerusalem , the last of these persons , in an interview with three of
Hezekiah ' s " most intimate friends / ' breaks out into the following strain of invective : "Speak ye now to Hezekiah , Thus saith the great King , the King of Assyria , What confident ^ is thi s wherein thou trustest ? Thou sayesfc , ( but they are but vain words , ) I have counsel and might for the war :
now on whom dost thou trust , that thou rebellest against me ? " 2 Kings xviii . 19 , 20 . ( See likewise xx . 20 ; 2 Chron . xxxii . 3—8 , 23 . ) Here there
appears to me a marked allusion to the leading titles contained in Isaiah's prophecy . The words rniajn HYtf , Counsel and Might , plainly refer , in my opinion , to the epithets nvp [ or , TVVl tobs * and nil ^ ? tt , " Wonderful
in Counsel , a Mighty God / ' That the Assyrian monarch was no stranger to these titles I can readily believe . Indeed , there is a passage found in a Jewish writing , quoted by Rammohun Roy , ( The Precepts of Jesus , &c , 2 nd ed ., p . 315 , ) from which it
appears that this monarch actually appropriated to hitbself epithets similar to those which the prophet applied to Hezekiah . i" God said , Let Hezekiah , who lias five names , take vengeance upon the King of Assyria ^ who has taken upon himself five names also . Talmud Sanhedrim , ch . xi . "
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t ' . v " ¦• ¦ ... -f f €€ JEperlasting Father , — . " Father of the age . —What language could have conveyed a more appropriate description of a monarch like Hezekiah than this ? To say of a king that
he is " the father of histtge , ** is to speak of him in terms of the greatest endearment , as well as the highest encomium ; and , if Hezekiah is not literally so called by any of those historians who have so briefly recorded the events of his reign , every qualification necessary to secure to a mbnarch this enviable title is ascribed to
him . He repaired the temple of God , restored tlie religion of his forefathers in all its original parity and splendour , broke in pieces the idols which had been erected to Heathen gods during the reigns of his predecessors , cut down their groves and destroyed their temples . Under his mild and paternal administration Jerusalem
recovered all its former prosperity , and so great was the success with which ail his undertakings were crowned , that he is again and again said to have " prospered in all his works . " 2 Kings xviii . 7 ; 2 Chron . xxxi . 21 , xxxii . 27—30 .
" Prince of Peace" This completes the climax of the prophet , and forms the finishing stroke to his description of Hezekiah ' s illustrious character ; whose reign is uniformly spoken of as a peaceful and happy one . This will appear the more remarkable if we consider the times in which he
lived , and the enemies with which he had to contend . ' The great King , " as Sennacherib is called , in Herodotus and Josephus , as well as in the Old Testament , notwithstanding all
his formidable preparations against Jerusalem , was compelled to flee with a small remnant of his army to Nineveh , after an ineffectual attempt to reduce the kingdom of Judah into a state of subjection ; and when the
same prophet who foretold the birth and future greatness of Hezekiah , announced the approaching calamities of his people , and their ultimate captivity , this was his memorable reply : " Gdod is the word of the Lord which
thou hast spoken . Is it not good , if peace and truth be in my days ?" 2 Kings xx . J 9 ; In summing up the character of this monarch , the author
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Mr . Wallace ' s Remarks on Isaiah ix . ' 6 , 7- 225
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VOL . XIX . 2 G
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1824, page 225, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2523/page/33/
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